In Brief
Ishwari Lal Yadav and Kiran Bai, who claimed to be tantrik practitioners, kidnapped and murdered a two-year-old child (Chirag) in November 2010 and a six-year-old girl (Manisha) earlier, purportedly as human sacrifices to attain spiritual powers. The bodies were buried in their house. They were discovered when neighbours heard loud music and suspicious sounds, leading to confessions and the unearthing of remains. The Supreme Court upheld the death sentence for the main accused for the Chirag murder, finding it a 'rarest of rare case' warranting capital punishment due to extreme brutality (severing the child's head and cutting cheeks and tongue), the victim's helplessness, prior similar conviction, and complete lack of reformation potential. Convictions of co-accused for kidnapping and conspiracy were overturned for lack of corroborating evidence, but convictions for murder and evidence tampering were confirmed.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.